GEM models was a toy company in England that made plastic figures of may varieties, soldiers, cowboys, indians, and sports figures. There is no definitive source of information on GEM, but the consensus is that they were around during the 50’s and 60’s. Most of these models were sculpted by a man name George Musgrave, a man who had his museum for a while, but again there’s very little information about (this specific) George Musgrave on the web, other than some audio tracks of him reading poetry on the youtube. His home town of Eastbourne has a 45 minute documentary on him (that might have appeared on the BBC) but amazingly, you have to download it. Why do we care about George Musgrave? Because in addition to the hundreds of action figures he sculpted, he also made these creepy little skateboarders. They aren’t inherently creepy, it’s just that if you take close up photos of any 40mm (1.6 inch) model and blow it up larger than life it will tend to look creepy, even if it isn’t a half a century old. While GEModels existed in the 50-60’s, George continued to sculpt for various other toy company and cake topper manufacturers up through the late 80’s. So it’s hard to tell exactly when these were made. The seller says it may be 30 years old, which seems about right. The safety gear and board design point to the late 70’s or any time during the 80’s because skateboard themed caricatures seem to lag a good decade or more behind the times. In this particular photograph the skaters look like Eastern Bloc astronauts. While hovering my mouse between front and back views I became entranced, so I created a weird little animated gif. The only thing missing is a techno soundtrack, or maybe a little dubstep. And now you know,

Remember the gold plated skateboard? Now you can watch the process. Yes, I’m phoning it in today.

It’s the September 13th, 2009 edition of Kids Scoop, which focuses on skateboarding. This is another buried treasure that was in the box that Danimal gave me with the kids braille skateboarding book. Lots of safety advice and fun activity after the jump, including the Great Skateboard Debate! No agendas at all, so wake up the kids and call Grandma.

Matt Christopher is the “#1 Sports Writer for Kids” according to his bio. Danimal sent me the braille addition of Skateboard Renegade that he rescued from the trash.

Buzz cut or ponytail? Grunge look? Tattoo, body paint, or earring? How about none of the above? When Zach takes up skateboarding, he doesn’t realize that he’s expected to look a certain way — and cop a certain attitude, too. At least that what it seems like. But Zach just isn’t comfortable with any of these things; he wants to skateboard for the fun of it, and maybe take part in a few competitions. Will he be ostracized because he looks and acts so “normal”? Or will his decision to stay true to himself mark him as a renegade, the very attitude his skateboarding buddies will appreciate?

Oh, the irony of being an outcast amongst outcasts for not embracing being a stereotype. I’m not sure why anyone would throw away a braille book, I would imagine the demand would exceed the supply, so this story must have been especially bad. See the Skateboard Renegade braille edition plus two other sighted edition covers after the jump.

This is a bootleg of the 1986 Air Rocket deck by Santa Cruz/Hosoi. (This time) the bootlegger changed quite a few things in the design like the haircut, logo and even the shape of the Hammerhead board in the drawing.  Sold on eBay for a ridiculously high $80.

You know those quizzes you see on Facebook, you love them right? Which member of the Beatles am I? Which character from Game of Thrones? Which Marvel Superhero? Which member of One Direction is going to have my baby? Well here at Skate and Annoy we’ve decided to step up and provide an invaluable public service by allowing you to take a quiz to determine which professional skater you are. This was a highly researched and painstakingly programed endeavor, and we know you will thank us once you’ve answered this important question in your life. (It should go without saying that this needs to be shared on Facebook as much as possible.)

Which Pro Skater are you? TAKE THE QUIZ HERE.

Artist David Jablow has a whole series of suggestive doodle pad illustrations brought to illogical conclusions. In fact, he’s got a book you can buy. The one you’re about to see is skateboard related, of course.

[Source: Aplus.com]

In a super transparent attempt to bolster public support for their name in the face of public opinion (at least in the rest of the nation) that is turning against them, the Washington Redskins offered to write a blank check for a skatepark the Fort Yuma Quechan (Kwatsan) Tribe had been planning. They even brought a “skatepark designer” with them to present a design that was festooned in red and gold. Tribal officials had little trouble sussing out the ulterior motives, and quickly turned them down. You can read the press release from Eradicating Offensive Native Mascotry. I have to wonder which destible “skatepark designer” went along with this embarrassing scheme. Definitely not a “credit to his race.” Was it a real design/build firm? Come on S&A community, let’s uncover this.

In the meantime, enjoy this gratuitous link to Wounded Knee Skateboards.

[Source: Kissing Suzy Kobler – Native News Online] – Thanks to Adam Shahan for the tip.

Right after they first came out I remember hearing Thunders were just Indys with different baseplates, but I never had any confirmation.

NEVER BEFORE SEEN: T H I N D Y ‘ S. Prototype THUNDER base-plates tested with INDY hangers.

WHY? I can’t remember. For some reason it was important.
Something to do with checking the geometry.

ANYWAY – – – this is a one-of-a-kind set of trucks, prior to the release of THUNDERS onto the world.

I always loved the baseplates on the old Thunders, with lizards, lightning bolts and skulls and no text to be seen anywhere. If you didn’t already know what they were, there was no way to tell what company made them. UPDATE: Added another Mofo shot of some OG Thunder baseplates in reference to Terry Nails.

– Thanks to MoFo for the photo

Porsche Pavilion by architecture firm of Henn, in Autostadt Park, in Wolfsburg, Germany. These look like renders, so I’m not sure if its real or not. UPDATE: DesignBoom, says it’s real.

[Source: Fubiz] – Thanks to MC for the tip.